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In investigating listener preferences for four different multichannel reproductions of four solo piano pieces, a task variable was manipulated in order to determine if the context in which preference choices were made might influence the pattern of results obtained. In one context, listeners were allowed to complete blocks of pairwise preference trials for each piano piece separately, while in the other context, the trials for the four piano pieces were intermixed throughout blocks of trials. Preference choices made by individual listeners were examined for inconsistencies under each of these two conditions, and these results were found to be consistent with the modulation in preference scale values summarizing the sentiments of the two groups of listeners.